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Deferiet Residents Told To Keep Conserving Water

Story Published: May 21, 2012 at 5:24 PM EDT

Story Updated: May 21, 2012 at 7:32 PM EDT

Mark Sheppard paints the porch on a day off. 

There's another chore he'd like to do, but can't.

"I'd like to water the grass and get the flowers I just put in all watered to keep 'em strong," said Sheppard, who lives in Deferiet.

But the garden hose is a no-no as Deferiet residents are urged to conserve water. 

A crew is pulling pipe and the pump from the 400-foot deep well that failed over the weekend. 

But a lack of records from 30 years ago means nobody knows what they'll find.

"The pump hasn't been out in so many years, nobody knows how deep it is or the quality or condition of the pipes," said Rick Keller of Keller's Well Drilling.

The village's other well was off-line when the other one failed.

Now it has been rushed back on, but is operating at only about half capacity.

It may be Wednesday before things are back to normal.

"Meanwhile, no extra water seems to be no big problem for village residents.

"The pressure didn't drop as much as we were planning on it dropping, so that was fantastic. So people were conserving water," said Mayor Rob Foster.

"Just cut back. Don't do things you normally would like wash your clothes and do dishes in the dishwasher," said Sheppard.

Village residents are also asked not to fill pools or wash cars.

One sign this is paying off - there's still enough water pressure for firefighting, if necessary.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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